Gimme More
"Gimme More" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fifth studio album,Blackout. It was released on September 27, 2007 by Jive Records as the lead single of the album. The song was written by Jim Beanz, Marcella Araica, Danja and Keri Hilson. "Gimme More" was recorded in 2006 during Spears's second pregnancy, and was one of the first solo productions by Danja. The song opens with an intro in which Spears says the phrase "It's Britney, bitch". It features racy lyrics, that although they appear to be about dance and sex, are a reference to the public's fascination with Spears's private life. Musically, "Gimme More" is an uptempo dance-pop song with breathy vocals and influences from other genres, such as electro and funk. The track closes with a speak-sing outro by Danja. "Gimme More" received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the music but dismissed Spears's vocals. The song peaked at number three on the U.S. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100 Billboard Hot 100], becoming her fifth top ten hit and also her second highest-peaking single at the time. It also peaked at the top of the charts in Canada and reached top five positions in fourteen countries. The accompanying music video premiered on October 5, 2007. It displayed Spears as a stripper and featured a break from Spears's highly choreographed music videos. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics, who panned Spears's pole dancing as well as the lack of storyline. An alternate cut was leaked on July 18, 2011. Spears performed "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, wearing a black, jeweled-encrusted bikini. It began with Spears lip synching the first lines of Elvis Presley's "Trouble", and featured [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond_%28film_series%29 James Bond]-inspired backdrops. The performance was panned by many critics, who commented extensively on her singing, dancing and wardrobe, with one deeming it as "one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards". Chris Crocker uploaded a video in response to the criticism titled "Leave Britney Alone!", which made him an Internet celebrity and attracted attention from the media. Spears has also performed "Gimme More" at the Femme Fatale Tour (2011). "Gimme More" has been covered and sampled by many artists, including Sia and Marié Digby. The song's opening line, "It's Britney, bitch", became a catch phrase in popular culture. It was referenced in many television shows and used during the performance of "Human Nature" on Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008–09). Background "Gimme More" was co-written by Jim Beanz, Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica, Nate "Danja" Hills and Keri Hilson, while being produced by Danja.[1] Spears started working with Danja in July 2006. He explained that the creative process was not difficult at first since he was "left to do pretty much whatever I wanted to", and "if she felt it, she was gonna ride with it. If she didn't, you’d see it in her face."[2] Hilson said that she wrote the song with Spears in mind after Danja played her the instrumental, adding, "I just started singing, 'Give me, Give me,' and added a little more in and just having fun and messing around really." Spears began recording the track in Las Vegas in August 2006, while she was seven months pregnant with her second child, Jayden James. Recording continued at Spears' house in Los Angeles, California, three weeks after she gave birth. Hilson commented that "She gave 150 percent. ... I don’t know any other mother that would do that."[3] In an interview with Rhapsody, Danja commented that he added a speak-sing outro to "stake his claim", since "Gimme More" was one of his first solo productions. "There's a lot riding on my future, because people think I’m around because of Tim and they don’t really know what I’m capable of", he said.[2] The song was mixed by Ms. Lago at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Background vocals were provided by Hilson and Beanz.[1] "Gimme More" was released as the album's lead single and premiered on New York City-based radio station Z100's web site. Composition "Gimme More" is an upbeat dance-pop song with influences of electro and funk.[4][5] According to the sheetmusic published at Musicnotes.com by Hal Leonard Corporation, it is set in a moderate dance groove and composed in the key of F# minor, with 113 beats per minute, with Spears vocal range spanning over two octaves from F#3 to G#5.[6] The melody incorporates "low electronic lines" whereas the beat has been described by Bill Lamb of About.com as "disco-ish".[4][7] Nick Levine of Digital Spy compared Spears's vocals to those of her single "I'm A Slave 4 U" (2001).[8] Lamb described them as "teasing ... backed by moaning and heavy breathing" and compared the song to Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" (1975).[7] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine felt the song was reminiscent of Sabrina's "Boys (Summertime Love)" (1987).[9] "Gimme More" is constructed in the common verse-chorus form. The song opens with a spoken intro in which Spears says the line "It's Britney, bitch".[10] Although the song's racy lyrics appears to be about dance and sex, they are actually about the public's fascination with her private life, as noted in the lines "Cameras are flashin' while we're dirty dancin' / They keep watchin', keep watchin'".[8] The chorus consists of the repetition of the hookline "Gimme gimme", that ends with a constantly pitch-shifted "More". The song closes with a speak-sing outro by Danja in which he says the lines "Bet you didn't see this one coming / The Incredible Lago, the legendary Ms. Britney Spears / and the unstoppable Danja". Critical reception "Gimme More" received mixed reviews from critics.[11] Dennis Lim of Blender named the song one of the highlights of the album, calling it "hypnotic pole-dance pop".[5] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called the song "futuristic and thrilling".[12] Nick Levine of Digital Spy said that "somehow, out of personal chaos, pop greatness has emerged. Danja melds tack-sharp beats and a deliciously scuzzy bassline to create a dancefloor throb that feels devilishly sexy".[8] While reviewing The Singles Collection, Evan Sawdey of PopMatters called "Gimme More" "the best dance track she has done since 'Toxic'".[13] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times said the track set the mood for Blackout, adding that "the electronic beats and bass lines are as thick as Ms. Spears’s voice is thin ... she delivers almost nothing but slithery come-ons and defiant invitations to nightclub decadence".[4] New Musical Express compared Spears's vocals to "a sex addict’s cry for help".[14] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said some of the songs of Blackout, "really show off the skills of the producers", exemplifying "Gimme More", "Radar", "Break the Ice", "Heaven on Earth" and "Hot as Ice".[15] Bill Lamb of About.com gave the song three and a half stars and commented, "It does seem that Britney's bump-and-grind singing style that we first heard 8 years ago on '...Baby One More Time' is still intact, and the 'It's Britney, bitch' announcement that opens the song implies a significant amount of fire remains. The opening alone bumps the song's rating up by half a star".[7] Roger Friedman of Fox News dubbed the line as "cocky and fun".[16] Eric R. Danton of The Hartford Courant wrote, "The comedy starts right away, when she plays the role of your drunk friend calling at 3 a.m., slurring, 'It's Britney, bitch'".[17] Mike Schiller of PopMatters called the opening line "real value...kind of hilarious" and added that the "inserted “more” syllables in the chorus only add to the feel that this is a genetically engineered sort of dancefloor banger".[13] Popjustice named "Gimme More" the tenth best song of 2007.[18] The StarPhoenix listed it as the second most infectious song of the year.[19] However, Maxim labeled it the year's lamest. Music Video The music video for "Gimme More" was filmed over two days in July 2007 at a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, California.[37][38] It was directed by Jake Sarfaty, who was handpicked by Spears. According to People, the production was Spears's "concept and vision".[37] During filming, Spears was spotted wearing a short black dress, black boots and a black hat.[38] On September 13, 2007, it was reported by The New York Times that the music video was being "tweaked with input from her advisers" since "the gritty, stripper-themed clip ... may jolt fans who are more accustomed to the slick, tightly choreographed videos that made her an MTV staple".[39] The music video premiered exclusively in iTunes Store on October 5, 2007 and in all other outlets, including TRL on October 8, 2007.[38] The video begins with a blonde Spears sitting and laughing in a bar with two female friends, but stops to look at a small stage in front of them. A brunette Spears appears on the stage, wearing a leather vest, a studded belt, panties and fishnet stockings while sporting a tattoo on her biceps. She dances erotically around a pole and up against a mirror. Throughout the video, she continues to dance and flip her hair while special effects lights flash around her as the camera moves slightly in and out of focus to the beat of the song. The video's light systems change from black and white with aura-like blue and pink hues to full blown color. Around the middle of the video, she is joined by two alter egos of her female friends, who also dance around the pole.[37] The music video received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly said "The moral of the story is, if you’re going to build an entire video around a stripper pole, then you better work said pole like a nine-to-five. Drop it like it’s hot. ... Alas, in the case of "Gimme More," I’ve seen sexier pole work during an afternoon of fly-fishing".[40] Andrei Harmsworth of Metro commented "To her credit, the video is slightly less disappointing than her mimed performance of the track at the Video Music Awards last month but it is still smeared with the same smutty hallmarks".[41] Dose said the video "sucks less than you think" and added "Spears appears lucid, sometimes happy, and awards-worthy editing makes her appear to be standing upright competently throughout".[42] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said the lightning effects and digital body enhancement of the video "indicate a predilection toward maintaining an image that no longer reflects reality. It doesn't point to an artist who refuses to evolve, but rather one who doesn't know how—or isn't being allowed to."[9] IGN writer Sketch Longwood called it one of Spears' hottest videos, adding that she "proves to be quite skilled in the art of teasingly slinking around."[43] While reviewing the alternate version of the video in July 2011, Becky Bain of Idolator stated that "Spears's last few videos — particularly the joyfully silly clip for 'I Wanna Go' — more than make up for the travesty that was the pop star's video for 'Gimme More' ... The stripper concept was a poor choice, the barely-there outfits were ill-fitting, the 'choreography' was a joke, the editing was sloppy."[44] An alternate version of the video leaked online on July 18, 2011, and included new scenes, which featured Spears strutting down the street in a black outfit and laying down in a zebra-print bed with a cat. The scenes of blonde Spears were cut. Becky Bain of Idolator said that "Neither the deleted nor added parts add or subject anything from the experience. This video was kind of doomed no matter how it was edited together." Designs Gimme more.jpg|The Original Single 31UvxkY9aSL._SL500_AA300_.jpg|A Different Version of "Gimme More" 51OH23bMLiL._SL500_AA280_.jpg|Gimme More (Britney Spears Metal Cover) 51ZgEcTafBL._SL500_AA280_.jpg|Gimme More The Remixes GimmeMoreKimmeMoreRemix.jpg|"Kimme More" Remix ft. Lil'Kim Trivia *This song makes appearance on the fictional video game Grand Theft Auto V on the radio station Non-Stop-Pop FM. *The iconic intro started out as a joke that Danja told Britney to say while recording the track. Category:Singles Category:Singles from Blackout Category:Blackout